Do not read this if you want to stay sane
by inuyashazeldaeragon
Summary: Literally don't read this.
1. Chapter 1

OKAY STORY TIME: I deleted a fanfic on here that was total shit - self insert, bad grammar, intrusive author's notes, just... horrendous - and I think it's a shame to do that, since I totally would love to reread these fics and die of cringe every once in a while. Since it's been missing for ages, I found it again and am reposting from a backup email I found way in the depths of my inbox.

Hello, future-me. (And hello past-me.)

Anyways, here's the entire fic: Enjoy this cringe-fest.

This is an awesome fic to read with a printout of Bad-Fic Bingo handy.

(Dated: some time in Sept. of 2012)

IY Fanfic #1:

It was a normal day for me, Kyoko Satenma, an average grade 8 student. Every day it's the same thing; I wake up. I eat breakfast. I go to school. I come home, and eat dinner. But the best part of my day is at night... I would always stay up until very late watching anime. That was how my adventures started.  
I was watching one of my all time favourite animes, 'InuYasha' (for the 5th time) and all of a sudden, something strange happened. The screen of my iPod started going wavy, and it felt very hot. I tried to let go, but my hands stuck to the screen like glue. Only then did I realize that my iPod seemed to be getting larger. Or, was it me that was getting smaller? I started to panic; why was this happening? Was it all a dream? Could I have fallen asleep a long time ago? It felt real enough, but I wasn't ready to accept that this was possible just yet. By then I had been almost completely absorbed into the screen.  
The place where I had been dropped into looked oddly like the shrine where the main protagonist of 'InuYasha' lived. I stood up, brushed myself off and looked around. It seemed like I was standing in front of her house! Just as I was beginning to wonder what to do, a young girl around my age walked out of the house. She was dressed in a typical Japanese school girl uniform, and carried a large backpack.  
"Oh hello! Who are you?" she said, smiling.  
"I... Are you really... I mean, is it you Kagome?!"  
She gave me an awkward look.  
"Hey... Uh, have we met before? Yes I'm Kagome."  
I only stared at her, not able to believe what had just happened. I had been dropped into Japan in 1996. And right into my favourite anime. This was getting better by the minute...  
"Hey listen, I know about you going through the well, and about InuYasha, Shippo, Miroku, Sango, Kirara-"  
"Wha- Lets go inside and discuss this...!"  
We walked upstairs to her room, and she sat down on her bed, while I occupied her desk chair.  
"Lets start with the basics... Who are you?"  
I hesitated for a moment before speaking, "I am Kyoko Satenma, I live in a modern day Japan; 2012 to be exact. I was sucked into a portal that opened up in my room, and ended up in front of your house."  
"And how do you know about everyone in the Feudal Era, and about me being able to travel back and forth between the two times?"  
"This may sound strange to you, but you- Well we, are in an anime. I know everything that happens in it, and I have watched the whole series 5 times..."  
She looked shocked, and a bit hopeful as she said, "So you know what will happen in the end? I mean... With Naraku, and..." She blushed.  
I giggled at her reaction, then said quietly, "Yes. I know what happens, but I won't tell anyone. I'm not sure what would happen if I did."  
"Oh. I see. Well, for starters, I guess you should change into something a bit less... noticeable."  
Only then did I look down at what I was wearing. Pajamas that said, 'I love anime.'  
"Uh... Umm... I didn't realize... I hope you're not offended or anything!"  
She laughed, "Of course I'm not offended! Why would I be?"  
We walked over to her small closet and she began rummaging around. She pulled out several outfits, that, according to her didn't seem to 'suit me' as she had put it.  
"Aha! I found the perfect outfit!" She handed me a light blue shirt with jeans and a black sweater. While I tried them on, she continued to ramble on about how great it would be to have another girl around, and how much everyone would like to meet me.  
"It'll even it out! There will be 3 boys and 3 girls! Oh this is going to be so fun!"  
Her enthusiasm was a bit scary...  
"Hey Kagome?" I asked tentatively.  
"Mmm?"  
"I don't want to be a pain or anything, but, could we maybe go visit the Feudal Era now? I would really like to meet everyone!"  
"Sure!" She said happily, "Lets go now!"  
She grabbed my hand and ran downstairs, practically dragging me behind her. As soon as we got to the shrine, my hair started to stand on end. It felt strange to be in here. I was going with Kagome into the Feudal Era to see the whole team of InuYasha protagonists. We reached the well, and Kagome looked at me, staring right into my eyes. She gave me a reassuring nod. I nodded back.  
Determined to get through, I took on a ready stance and backed up slowly.  
"Okay, on the count of three, we jump into the well, is that right?"  
Kagome nodded.  
"ONE, TWO, THREE!"  
We jumped down into the deep dark pit of the well, and it seemed almost as if we were floating in space. Had we made it through? It sure was taking a long time to get to the other side if that was the case.  
"Kagome, did we make it through?"  
"Of course!" She laughed.  
It took only a few more seconds before we surfaced inside the bottom of the well once again. I looked up; it was so bright out that I had to cover my eyes. Kagome started to climb up the side of the well, and soon poked her head over the side again.  
"Need a hand?" She called down to me, and held her hand out for me to grab. I took it, and soon, I too was out.  
I looked around, shocked and amazed.  
"Lets go find everyone!" Kagome said happily, walking off.  
We walked through a maze of trees for around 10 minutes, then came to a small bright clearing.  
Sitting in the middle of it, was a boy, wearing a red kimono. His hair was silver, although he looked quite young. And sticking out of the top of his head, were two dog ears. It was InuYasha.

"Hey Kagome, what took you so long? Miroku and Sango left with Kirara and Shippo two days ago!" He looked at me suddenly, surprised. "Uh, who are you?!"  
I decided to have a little fun with him. "Hey InuYasha! I'm Kagome's younger sister! You don't remember me?"  
Both Kagome and InuYasha looked at me, giving me the same expression. It was a look that said 'You can't be serious?'  
No one said a word until I burst out laughing.  
"What's so funny?!" InuYasha said, a bit annoyed.  
"I'm not Kagome's younger sister, I was just messing with ya!"  
"Well gee, how convincing it was! Not." InuYasha barked while Kagome rolled her eyes. "So where did Miroku and-" She was cut off as InuYasha said, "Hey don't change the subject! You still haven't told me who 'this' is!"  
"I am Kyoko Satenma. It's great to finally meet you!"  
"Right... So does this mean you've been spying on us this whole time or somethin'?"  
"I guess you could say that..."  
I leaned over to Kagome and whispered, "I wouldn't tell him about the whole 'anime' thing yet..."  
"Okay."  
InuYasha's ears twitched.  
"I don't know what 'a-nee-may' is, so I'll let it slide for now; but don't think you can keep any more secrets from me!"  
He crossed his arms, annoyed. "And why are you wearing Kagome's clothes? Were yours too ugly? Not saying that those ones are nice..."  
"SIT!" We both yelled. Kagome and I looked at each other, then burst out laughing. InuYasha pulled his face out of the dirt, looking angry (as usual) and yelled, "WHAT IS SO FUNNY?!"  
"It's just funny that it came so naturally to Kyoko! We really could pass for sisters!" Kagome exclaimed, grinning.  
"Well I don't see what's so funny about me smashing my face into the ground!" InuYasha yelled.  
"You'll get over it. For now, I think Kyoko wants to explain what happened to her."

After I had explained how I had  
come to meet Kagome, and somehow managed to travel into the feudal era with her, it had started to get dark, so Kagome and I unrolled our sleeping bags, and settled in for the night. But as Kagome was getting into her sleeping bag, i noticed a strange expression on InuYasha's face. He seemed to be staring off into space at first glance, but I soon realized that he was really looking at Kagome. Although InuYasha tried to be rough and tough, I knew that his human blood made him more sensitive than most demons, and it was certainly showing now. His eyes were glazed, and he looked as if he would fall asleep on his feet. After studying him for another 5 minutes or so, I recognized this look. He was deep in thought. I wondered what he might be thinking about.  
InuYasha turned suddenly and looked directly at me. "Why are you staring at me? It's giving me the creeps! What do you want?"  
I looked right back at him.  
"Will you come with me for a second?"  
He looked amused.  
"Sure."  
We walked away from the now sleeping Kagome, and into a small clearing nearby.  
I decided to get right to the point.  
"I want to know what you're thinking about. And don't even think about lying, I can read your expressions pretty well."  
"Why should I tell you?" InuYasha asked, a hint of anger in his voice.  
"Because I want to help you get it off your chest. I can tell it's bothering you, and I know you haven't told Kagome or the others. If you don't feel comfortable talking to me, I won't force you, but I would like it if you at least told Kagome. And if you don't want Kagome to find out, you had better be honest with me."  
He growled something under his breath.  
"Fine." He hesitated for a minute, and his expression softened. "I would really like to tell Kagome, but I... Well, I don't know if she'd like it too much. Where do I start... Well first of all, my father, he is... Still alive."  
I froze. His father? The great dog demon?  
"But I thought he died trying to save your mother and yourself! And haven't you even been to his grave site? How could he possibly still be alive?"  
InuYasha adopted an absent look.  
"He lives... Inside my sword Tetsusaiga. He has been trying to supress the demon inside me, but his efforts are growing weaker, and I think he might be losing the battle. If he does, I'll be consumed by my demon half, and I won't be in control of my actions anymore. I don't want to hurt Kagome and the others, but I might not be able to control my transformations by then. I want to go on a trip; alone. I need to get away from them until I'm sure that the demon blood is suppressed. I don't know how long it will take though."  
I thought about it for a minute. Maybe this would work for me as well.  
"Hey InuYasha, we could tell everyone that you and I were going to find a way for me to get back to my own time! Then we could try and-" I was cut off.  
"No! I won't put you in danger for my own sake! I couldn't live with myself if you got hurt in the process. And I'm sure Kagome would give me hell for it too. You shouldn't get involved with this. You could be killed or captured by Naraku! Who knows what he'd do with you?"  
I didn't even need to think about it. I stood up suddenly.  
"I don't care what you say! I'll come with you wherever you decide to go! I want to help you, and I plan on coming no matter what! And don't even think about sneaking off or anything. You wouldn't want Kagome wondering where you went, would you?" I smirked, thinking of how well I had trapped him.  
InuYasha glared at me. "Fine. But you better not hold me back!"  
"Thank you!" I exclaimed, and ran to hug him.  
"Hey, hey, hey! None of that!"  
"Why?" I asked, still grinning.  
InuYasha rolled his eyes at me. "Well because... Because it's a violation of my space. Besides, why do you want to hug a demon like me?"  
I winked. "Oh shut up, I know you're not a full demon, so you can drop the 'rough and tough' act! And I also know you still have human feelings associated with the human blood, so why wouldn't you like a hug?" I smiled at him. "You know you want to!"  
"Keh."  
I giggled.  
"Well we had better get back to the camp. Who knows what could happen to Kagome?"

The next morning, we packed up and began to travel in the direction that InuYasha said that Sango, Shippo and Miroku had gone. I noted how tired InuYasha looked. Was it because he had stayed up all night?  
He bent down. "Get on you two."  
"Can you really carry both of us?" I asked.  
"You're probably lighter than Kagome, so-"  
"SIT BOY!" Kagome yelled, causing InuYasha to faceplant.  
"HEY!"  
I walked up to InuYasha, bent down, and whispered in his ear, "Never talk about a woman's appearance unless you plan on complimenting her!"  
"Whatever. Get on both of you!"  
And with that, we were gliding over the trees at a very quick pace.  
After about an hour of traveling, InuYasha 'landed' quickly. I soon realized why he had stopped.  
"Hey, Shippo, Sango, Miroku, come here! There's someone you should meet!" Kagome yelled.  
The three (plus Kirara) came into view, and I waved.  
The first one to reach us was Miroku. I prepared myself for the inevitable.  
"Why hello there! You're quite the beauty if I may say so myself!"  
He grasped my hands between his. "Would you consider-" I yanked my hands out of his and slapped him right across the face. "Stop being such a womanizer all the time you perverted monk!" I laughed. "Sorry, I've always wanted to do that..."  
He looked shocked, but soon took on a malicious expression.  
"I love a woman who can defend herself. You should really consider my offer. I would be forever- GHKK!" By then, Sango had appeared, and had smashed her Hiraikotsu into his head.  
"Thank you Sango." I said, looking to her.  
"My pleasure. So who are you anyways? Are you maybe from Kagome's time as well?"  
I turned to Kagome. "Would you do the honors?"

After Kagome had explained my story, (leaving out the anime bit of course) the other half of the group explained what they had been doing.  
"-And that's how we found this jewel shard!" Sango finished.  
"So you only found one jewel shard in all that time?!" InuYasha asked, annoyance tainting his voice.  
"InuYasha, there aren't too many jewel shards left that are out of Naraku's possession. You have to try to understand that small, weak demons will not have any. It took a lot of time to plan out how we would attack it. We, unlike you, strategize so as to minimize the damage done. Humans do not heal as fast as demons you know, so it wouldn't be very convenient if one of us had to wait to recover." Miroku said calmly.  
InuYasha was silent for a moment, then looked to me. I knew what he was trying to silently ask. I nodded.  
"Kyoko and I decided to travel alone to try and find a way back into her own world. All of you should continue to try and locate more jewel shards. It wouldn't do us any good if we all took time to wander around Japan."  
Everyone looked to me. They seemed to be sizing me up. Did they view me as a threat to Kagome? I loved InuYasha, but I certainly wasn't interested in him like that!  
Miroku spoke first, "As long as you don't have anything else in mind, I say it's a good strategy."  
The rest of the group nodded, though Kagome still looked a bit suspicious.  
"Alright, then we leave tomorrow!" InuYasha said.

In the morning, we all ate breakfast and packed up our supplies. Kagome had lent me her sleeping bag, saying she didn't mind if I didn't bring it back.  
"InuYasha," I whispered inconspicuously by his fuzzy ears, "I think Kagome is taking this pretty hard. You should go and talk to her before we leave."  
He grumbled something unintelligable before walking up to Kagome.  
"Get on Kagome." He said, crouching down.  
She looked at me, as if to ask me what was going on. I shrugged.  
"Well? Get on! We don't have all day!"  
"Alright, alright! Calm down!"

*Kagome's Point Of View*

InuYasha stopped in a clearing up ahead of the group, and I got off, still wondering why he had decided to bring me here. InuYasha's expression suddenly turned soft, and he stared into my eyes. Chills ran down my spine.  
"Kagome... I don't know how to say this, but... The reason that I have to be the one to take Kyoko is because I don't want to put you in danger. I can feel the demon blood in me overpowering the human blood, and I don't know how long I can stay like this."  
"Then why are you taking Kyoko with you? Wouldn't it be better if she came with us? She would be killed, if you did change into a full demon! Why take her?"  
He paused, then said, "Because I can smell demon in her too. I may be able to restrain myself from killing her."  
I was shocked. Kyoko? A demon? She seemed human enough, but maybe it was such a tiny amount that it had been buried deep down inside her. So was she similar to InuYasha then? A quarter demon maybe? My head was spinning from all of this...  
"Her scent is similar to Sesshomaru's. I don't know why yet. If we run into him on the way, maybe I'll have her ask him."  
"Do you think Kyoko could be a decendant of yours or Sesshomaru's?" I asked, feeling a bit embarassed.  
"Maybe..." He stared into my eyes again, his golden eyes seemingly peering into my soul. "I want you to know that there isn't anything between Kyoko and I. You... You're the only one that I could ever-"  
I cut him off by placing my fingers on his lips.  
"You don't need to say it InuYasha, because I know that isn't entirely true. Kikyo means more to you than I do."  
He moved closer to me, then hugged me tightly.  
"Inu... Yasha?" I managed to say, in complete shock. He had embraced me like this before, but it felt more... Real this time. Like he really wanted to hug me. I wrapped my arms around him, and he suddenly pulled away.  
"What's wrong?" I asked, getting upset. Was he feeling guilty about having hugged me? Maybe he had thought of Kikyo and figured that he was betraying her. But he did not look sad. In fact, he looked more happy then I had ever seen him.  
"Nothing." He said, with a tiny smile. And with that, he kissed me. It felt like electricity was shooting through my body. I never wanted him to leave me now.  
He pulled away, and said, "Kikyo doesn't even cross my mind now. I love you Kagome."  
As soon as he had got that last sentance out of his mouth, he ran full pelt back to camp.  
"InuYasha! Wait!" I yelled, tears blurring my vision. As I walked back to camp, a wave of unease ran through my being. What made him kiss me? Was it because he was going to leave me? Did he plan on traveling alone after he had brought Kyoko home? I doubted I could ever come back to the feudal era if that was it. But I touched my lips, the spot where his had met mine, and realized that he most likely couldn't stay away for very long either.

*Kyoko's Point Of View*

As InuYasha rushed back into camp, I immediately noted that his hair was now black; the way it was on the night of the new moon. It also became apparent that he didn't have Kagome on his back anymore. He ran straight up to me, and slung me over his back, like I was nothing but a sack of potatoes. Without even getting to say goodbye, we sped off in the opposite direction.  
"InuYasha!" I yelled at him, "What happened?!"  
But he could not hear me, for he was in some sort of daze. He kept tripping, and was also steadily slowing down. Soon, he fell flat on his face, and didn't get up. I got off of him, and helped him up to find tears in his eyes. Was InuYasha really crying?! He wiped his face, blushing.  
I stood up and faced him. "Will you tell me what's wrong? And why are you a human? I thought your demon blood was taking over!"  
He grabbed a lock of his now-black hair. "Wha-!" He exclaimed, "How is this...? It isn't the night of the new moon yet!"  
I stared him down. "Did something happen with Kagome? You've been acting really weird since you came back from the forest."  
I knew at once that something had definitely happened, because his entire face went red.  
I struggled to keep my mouth shut, to keep the giggles in.  
He turned his back to me, "N-Nothing happened..."  
"Oh come on, I know 'something' happened!"  
"I don't want to talk about it."  
I walked around to face him and gave him a reassuring smile. "Okay, but if you ever need to talk, you can come to me. We'll be together for quite a long time!"  
InuYasha looked at me, his expression unreadable.  
"I'd appreciate it if you'd just leave me alone for a little while."  
He caught me off guard. Why was he being so nice and polite? Was it because he was a human now?  
"O-okay. I'm sorry..."  
"It's not you Kyoko... I just need to think about it first, and get my head on straight before I can talk about it."  
"Alright, but at least let me put some bandages on your wounds."  
He agreed, and we sat down across from each other. As I cleaned his many cuts and scrapes on his forehead, he grimaced and dug his fingernails into the palms of his hands. "Couldn't you use something that doesn't sting that much?" he asked me.  
I laughed, "Quit being a such a baby! It wouldn't hurt this much if you would stop squirming around!"  
He growled at me, and it just made me laugh even harder.  
"Do you mind? If it's all the same to you, I'd rather spend this time traveling instead of messing around!"  
"Sure, sure. I'll be done in a minute!"  
Even though he had stopped complaining, I still noted the hurt expression on his face. Although it didn't look like it was because of the wounds. He looked heartbroken. Literally.  
"InuYasha?"  
He looked up at me. "Yeah?"  
"I'm done you know."  
He touched the bandages gingerly, then blushed. "Oh-Uh... Oops..."  
I laughed once again. He seemed to blush a lot, now that he was human!  
We continued on the path to the mountains, albeit at a slower pace than before. After traveling for a very long time, and it began to get dark out, InuYasha slowed down.  
"I have an idea of where we can stay for the night. Hold on tight." An with that, he began to jump vertically up a mountain.  
"INUYASHA!" I screamed, hoping that he'd slow down.  
"Hey! Don't scream in my ear like that! I might have human ears right now, but it still hurts when you yell into them!"  
"Could you slow down please?!"  
"Calm down! We're almost there!  
We finally reached a small cave, surrounded by a wide, clear, river. InuYasha jumped up to the hole in the side of the mountain. I was suddenly alert. I felt almost feral. My nose twitched, and I felt a strange tingling sensation on the top of my head. I itched the spots, and my fingernails seemed unnaturally long and sharp. I looked at them curiously. How did they grow this long in such a short time?  
"Ky-Kyoko! Y-You have dog ears!" He looked at the top of my head, pointing right to where it was tingling.  
"You're joking!" I exclaimed, running to a large pool of water off to the side of the cave. When I peered into the water, I noted the big fuzzy brown dog ears poking out of my hair, and also my new electric green-gold eyes. I touched the ears, playing with them. They were certainly real! What had caused this transformation?  
"InuYasha, where are we?" I asked cautiously.  
"In the wolf demon's den. This is where Koga's tribe used to live."  
"I thought so," I said, sniffing again. "I can smell wolf. It's all over this cave."  
He stared at me, his eyes flicking from my ears, to my nose, and stopping at my strangely coloured eyes.  
"Your eyes..." he said, "They're similar to Sesshomaru's... Who are you?"  
"I don't know... Could I maybe be a descendant of his?" A small smile formed on my face. "Well that would make us related as well."  
InuYasha's face twisted into a smirk. "Then that would mean that he falls in love with a half demon or a human! What a hypocrite!"  
I thought of Sesshomaru. Could he really be my ancestor? My eyes were similar to his, but I couldn't imagine him with a human or half demon mate... I couldn't even imagine him with a full demon mate!  
InuYasha broke the long silence. "Well it looks like our positions have switched." He said. "Me, the ordinary human, and you, the new part demon." He smiled, looking quite handsome. "Well then, I think you should be taught how to use the Tetsusaiga then.  
"What?" I said, completely shocked. Could I really wield the sword?  
"Well since I don't have demon powers right now, the Tetsusaiga won't transform for me, when I'm like this. You'll have to know how to defend yourself if someone, or something should attack us while I'm weak. I don't know how long I'll have to stay like this. I need a human sword as well. Tomorrow, we'll find a new sword for me, and I will also teach you how to properly wield a sword.

I woke up early the next morning to find that InuYasha was still asleep. Even when he was sleeping, he had that same painful expression marring his features. What was it that was bothering him so horribly? I walked carefully over, and sat down beside him. With my heightened senses, I could tell that he was cold. I rummaged through my backpack for a minute, and soon found the thin wool blanket that Kagome had given me in case of a cold night. Wrapping the blanket around InuYasha's body, he seemed to almost relax a bit. I decided to bring my sleeping bag a bit closer, and sit beside his sleeping form for a while. Sitting against the cold, hard cave wall, I turned my head to look at him. He looked more peaceful and at ease than I had ever seen him before. I studied every little detail. It wasn't as hard to see in the dark now that I had animal-like night vision. I saw the way his raven hair fell into his eyes, the way it parted at his shoulder, so that two long locks of hair fell onto his chest, which was rising and falling steadily while he slept soundly. I watched as his long fingers twitched suddenly to his sword, and how he instinctively put his hand by the hilt. I knew that as long as I was with InuYasha, I was safe.

*InuYasha's Point Of View*

Before I was even fully awake yet, I noticed a sudden warmth. When I finally opened my eyes, I saw that someone had covered me with a woolen blanket.  
'Was it Kagome?' I wondered. A pang of loneliness shot through me. 'No it couldn't be Kagome. I left her with Miroku, Sango and Shippo. (And Kirara!)'  
I attempted to roll over, but found that someone was laying on me. It was Kyoko. Her head was in my lap, and she was sleeping quite soundly. 'She must have been the one who covered me up.' I decided. How could I get up without waking her? If I moved, she would definitely wake up. I looked at her more closely. She looked happy. Almost too happy.  
After waiting for 10 minutes or so for her to wake up, I noticed that she was starting to move. Was she finally going to get up? Kyoko suddenly raised her arm, and slapped me hard across the face.  
"No... Miroku I don't wanna have your kid..." She mumbled sleepily. 'Only Miroku could give a girl nightmares.' I thought, rubbing my stinging cheek.  
Kyoko rolled over, and I instinctively brushed a lock of hair off her forehead. I didn't know why, but I felt compelled to protect her with my life. I thought about our conversation last night. Was she really related to me?  
Again, Kyoko stirred, but this time, she opened her eyes and looked at me. She sat up quickly, and smacked her head into mine.  
"I'm sorry!" she said, rubbing her head, while I rubbed my own, "I saw you that you looked cold, so I covered you with the blanket, and-"  
"It's okay Kyoko! Stop apologizing, I'm grateful that you covered me up! I probably would've caught a cold in my weak human state if you hadn't."  
'Why did I just tell her that I appreciated something she did?' I wondered. Damn the human blood in me!  
"Oh!" She exclaimed suddenly. "Your cheek... Did I slap you?"  
"Huh?" I touched the spot where she had pointed. "Oh, yeah, you said something about not wanting to have Miroku's child, then slapped me."  
She laughed. "Oh! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!"  
"Nevermind, it's not like it hurts or nothing."  
She shivered, so I unwrapped the blanket from around myself and gave it to her.  
She looked at me for a minute before accepting it. "Uh, thank you InuYasha." She said awkwardly.  
I couldn't meet her eyes. "Don't mention it." I said.  
She sat up against the wall, and I got up, stretching my stiff muscles. I sighed, and walked farther down into the cave. I soon came to a dead end, finding some old discarded spears, and a few swords. Picking up a few of each, I began to walk back towards Kyoko. I planned what I would do with them. Maybe I could break the tips off of the spears, and burn the wooden shafts? And I could use the best sword out of the bunch for the time being. I might have to sharpen it, but having a sword that I could use while human would be at least a bit reassuring.  
Soon I had gotten back to the mouth of the cave, and lay out all of the weapons I had found. I called Kyoko over, and she came, dragging the blanket behind her.  
"I found some spears that we can use for firewood. Can you build a fire?" I asked.  
"Yeah sure." She replied.  
While Kyoko gathered all of the supplies essential for making a fire, I examined the swords. The first of the four that I had brought back was very well used, to put it lightly. I examined the next one. And the next one. And the next one. I decided on the third one, as it felt right in my hand, and dug through Kyoko's bag, wondering if Kagome had remembered to pack a whetstone. Finally locating the large block, I prepared a workspace and set to work sharpening the sword. After a while, Kyoko joined me and sat to my left, watching me scrape the accumulated rust off of the blade.  
After a long while, I deemed the it fit to be used. The only thing left to do, was test it out. So I set the whetstone down, and picked up the newly sharpened sword.  
"I'll be right back Kyoko." I said.  
"Kay."  
I jumped down off the cliff to the ground, and started to search for a suitable target. Finding a stump, I eyed it, imagining it to be a malicious demon, and swung the sword. It sunk deep into the wood. Satisfied, I jogged back to the base of the cave and jumped straight up into the cave.  
"How is it?" Kyoko asked me.  
"Definitely not as good as Tetsusaiga, but it's not bad for a human sword." I smiled.  
"Good! Now you'd better get started on mine."  
Sighing, I said, "Alright, but you'll have to help me sharpen it."

*Kagome's Point Of View*

For three days I waited for InuYasha to come back to me. I felt betrayed. Why had InuYasha told me all of that mushy stuff, then ran off? I wanted to wait for him to get back, but Sango had remnded me that InuYasha wasn't the type to come back after 'making a fool out of himself'. Of course Sango didn't know what had happened in the forest that night. Even though Sango was one of my best friends, I couldn't bring myself to tell her that InuYasha had 'kissed' me. Besides, that was private and personal. Between InuYasha and I.  
I kept trying to get my mind off of him, but I just couldn't. Why was it so hard to forget about him? I decided to talk to Sango about it.  
"Hey Sango," I said as I walked up to her, "Can I talk to you alone?"  
"Yeah sure," she replied, "Why don't we go and take a bath?"  
I sighed, "As long as Miroku stays away..."

*Kyoko's Point Of View*

After InuYasha and I had finished sharpening my new sword, he brought me down to the 'practice stump,' where he said he would teach me how to fight.  
"Draw your sword, stand with your legs apart, and swing your blade at me."  
"Are you sure about this?" I asked nervously. "What if one of us gets our head lopped off?!"  
"Relax and trust me. Stop being such a baby!"  
"Alright!" I said, and swung the sword down at his right shoulder. With incredible speed, he deflected my blow, and countered.  
Within seconds, he had me on the ground, pointing the tip of his sword at my neck.  
"Well that was quick." I said, trying to back away.  
He pulled the sword back, and slid it back into its sheath.  
"You won't be much help if you can't even hold your own against me for a minute. Maybe you should stick to your claws."  
"No! I want to know how to fight with a sword! Please InuYasha, teach me!"  
He sighed. "Alright. And even though you're a girl, I won't go easy on you!"  
I smiled. "Okay!"  
We sparred for another couple hours, until InuYasha sat down on the small stump and said, "Okay, that's enough. I'm starving! Did Kagome pack any ninja food in that bag?" He looked hopeful.  
I giggled. "I'm sure she did! I'll go check."  
I jumped up to a small ledge, and climbed up into the cave. Once I had gotten inside, I walked straight over to my bag and rummaged through it, to find the ramen. I built a good fire, and began to boil some water, when I burnt my hand on the small pot.  
"Aargh!" I yelled.  
InuYasha bounded up the side of the mountain and jumped into the cave. "What? What's wrong? Did someone attack you?"  
"No... My hand... Burnt..." I managed to get out. I braced myself and took a look at the wound. It already looked pretty bad.  
InuYasha dug around in the bag, frantically trying to find something. "Aha!" He pulled a small first aid kit out of the backpack, and pried it open. Grabbing a few bandages, and a tiny bottle of liquid, he sat down across from me.  
"Let me see." He said.  
I held out my hand, and he set to work. I was surprised he knew what to do, but I figured he had probably seen Kagome do it many times before.  
"This'll take a couple of days to heal, so I don't think we should spar until then. It's no good if you can't perform to your full potential anyways."  
"Okay," I said, "But I think i could probably fight with my right hand too. I'm ambidextrous in some sports, so maybe I am with my ability to fight!"  
"Fine," InuYasha agreed reluctantly, "But- Hey, your dog ears are gone again!"  
"Huh?" I touched the top of my head with my good hand. "What happened to them?"  
InuYasha looked quizzically at me, then said, "I'm 100% not sure, but maybe you become a part demon when you encounter a lot of demonic energy. Maybe I'm rubbing off on you." He smirked. "Well, this cave has also been used by many wolf demons, and has a lot of lingering demonic energy. If this is the case, then you can't control your transformations either."  
I contemplated the theory for a while, and figured that this was the most likely reason. Everything seemed to fit anyways.  
"Yeah that makes sense."  
At least I had gotten a little while with my cute ears.

That night, we considered packing up and trying to find a new campsite, but decided against it. We would be safe here as long as we didn't have any jewel shards. And since InuYasha and I were both human at the moment, no new demonic aura was emanating from the cave.  
"InuYasha," I called his name softly, "What is Sesshomaru like?"  
"Sesshomaru? He's an arrogant, evil, cocky bastard!" he scoffed. His eyes widened, seeming to realize where I was going with this. "Uh, I mean, he can be an okay guy when he's not trying to kill you..."  
I stared blankly at the ground. "I see..."  
Why would InuYasha of all people praise his hostile brother? He had been shunned by him his entire life; for being half human. If we did meet up with Sesshomaru, I hoped that I would be at least part demon then.  
"Hey, would you really want a fake answer? At least I was being honest!"  
I laughed. "Yeah, brutally honest..."  
"Well now that you know how much of a bastard Sesshomaru can-" He was cut off as someone stepped out of the shadows and slugged him in the back of the head.  
"What was that little brother?" Sesshomaru said menacingly.  
A tall, slender, young woman stepped out from behind Sesshomaru. She had long auburn hair down to her knees, and her features were foxlike in appearance. She wore a simple blue kimono that was belted loosely at the waist, and hung down to her ankles. The girl clutched at Sesshomaru's shirt, and looked to be about twenty.  
InuYasha turned around, furious. "How long have you been standing there?!" He locked his gaze onto the new arrival. "And who's the girl?"  
Sesshomaru replied calmly, "She is my mate."  
InuYasha let out a bark of harsh laughter that made the woman scowl at him. "Your mate? Who would want to be mated to you?!"  
Still relatively emotionless, though progressively getting angrier, Sesshomaru ignored InuYasha's comment, and said, "We did not come here to chat with you, InuYasha." He spat out the name with such contempt, that I knew that he would hate his brother until the day he died. The thing that I couldn't understand was why he had chosen to be mated with a seemingly human woman. Would he hate his own son?  
The girl finally spoke, "Sesshy, please be civil..."  
He sighed. "Naiome, leave here and wait for me by the river."  
Naiome put her hands on her hips. "No! You promised me that you wouldn't hurt them! If I leave, then how do I know whether you'll kill them, or not? And you said that your brother was 'a dangerous demon who could kill me with one swing of his sword', but he seems to be an okay guy! I mean, he even looks human! From the way you described him, i imagined that he would be some kind of monster!"  
"Naiome, don't make a scene."  
"I WILL IF I WANT TO!" she yelled, her angry voice echoing throughout the cave.  
Sesshomaru turned to her, picked her up by the waist and slung her over his shoulder.  
"Do not think that I am leaving InuYasha." he said.  
"HEY! DAMN IT SESSHY, PUT ME DOWN!" Naiome yelled, thrashing about. But Sesshomaru glided gently down to the river below, set her down, and jumped back up to the cave.  
"What the hell are you doing with her?" InuYasha asked, glancing down at Naiome, who was now stomping around, and cursing loudly.  
"I could ask the same thing little brother." he said, staring at me.  
I blushed and said, "Hey, there's a legitimate reason as to why we're traveling together!" I said, flustered.  
"Care to explain then, girl?"  
"I... I uh..."  
"You don't need to tell him anything Kyoko." InuYasha said, unsheathing Tetsusaiga.  
"Ah," Sesshomaru grinned, "I wondered why I didn't sense your demonic aura." he said. "I did not realize with it being so dark. I see I have caught you in your time of weakness."  
"I forgot..." He growled under his breath.  
"There is no reason to fight. I have not come here to spar."  
InuYasha's expression of shock mirrored my own.  
"What?" InuYasha said.  
"What, are you deaf? I said I have not come here to fight with you. My intentions are to make amends with you." He spat, a look of disgust on his face.  
InuYasha laughed. "Was it that girl that made you do this?"  
Sesshomaru scowled. "Would I be here otherwise? Naiome wishes to get to know you better. She told me that she would leave if I didn't bring her to see you."  
I smiled. He had changed for the better. Sesshomaru would never have listened to anyone's request in the past, let alone a woman!  
"Hah! Sesshomaru, you've gone soft!" InuYasha scoffed.  
"As have you." He retaliated emotionlessly.

*InuYasha's Point of View*

After much placating, and begging, I finally gave into Kyoko. "Naiome and your brother have come all this way to see you!" She had said. "Let them travel with us for a while, please?" And so, Sesshomaru and his new mate had made camp across from us inside the tiny cave. At present, Kyoko and Naiome sat giggling and chatting animatedly like old friends, while Sesshomaru and I sat side by side, (though a fair distance from each other) watching the two young women. We said nothing, only moving occasionally to glare at each other.  
After a long while, Kyoko yawned and said, "I don't know about you Naiome, but I'm really tired. I'm going to turn in. You coming InuYasha?"  
I threw a dirty look in Sesshomaru's direction, and growled, "Fine."  
Kyoko and I walked over to our side of the cave, and while I sat down against the wall, Kyoko sat by me in her sleeping bag, and laying her head on my shoulder, said, "Good night InuYasha." I sincerely hoped that it was too dark to see my red face.  
"G'night." I said, attempting to cover my face with my bangs.  
I suddenly felt myself go tense, and I clutched the human sword. Kyoko looked up.  
"What's wrong?" She looked closer at me, squinting. "Hey, you're back to normal!" She whispered happily.  
I looked down at my hand and saw that my claws were back.  
"Heh, good. I was getting tired of being human."  
"Glad to hear it." She replied, snuggling into my chest.  
I glanced across the cave to see Sesshomaru in a similar position. He looked... Happy. Did he truly intend to have a relationship with a human? A thought occured to me. Maybe she is Kyoko's great great grandmother! I laughed silently at my stupidity. Impossible. Sesshomaru would never be associated with a human girl. With my nose back to normal, I realized that she was actually a half demon. Half fox demon that is.  
Kyoko twitched suddenly and just about gave me a heart attack. I looked down at her. Her features were definitely similar to mine and Sesshomaru's. I closed my eyes, and pictured Kyoko. Looking at the dreamlike her, I studied her features closely. I followed the apparition, curious as to where she might take me, when just as suddenly she had appeared, faded into nothingness. Another being entered my view.  
'Kagome!' I yelled. She looked at me, tears in her eyes, and ran in the opposite direction.  
'Kagome come back! I want you here with me!'  
Kyoko reappeared, "InuYasha? Where are you going? I need you here with me. InuYasha? InuYasha?'  
I woke up with a start. Kyoko was shaking me.  
"Oh good your awake!" She smiled. "Come on, we're going to go down to the river and bathe! Naiome and I have found the perfect spot!"  
"You've got to be kidding me. You woke me up for that?" I said, a bit angry with her.  
She smiled, "Come on, it'll be fun!"  
I glared at her. "Fun for you and Naiome maybe, but it isn't exactly 'fun' to bathe while you're paranoid about your evil brother attacking you while naked and vulnerable." Kyoko looked at me, contemplating something that I could not guess at. She finally spoke, her expression unreadable.  
"InuYasha, you really need to sit back and relax once and a while."  
I face planted hard into the cold stone beneath us. Was Kagome near? Kyoko's sentence replayed in my mind. She had said 'sit'... I snapped my gaze to her.  
"You! How are you able to use the beads of subjugation?!"  
Her eyes widened in surprise.  
"I...I don't know, I thought that was only something Kagome was able to do..." She said quietly.  
"Well," I said getting up and stretching out my muscles, "We'd better get down there."  
"Huh? Oh- Yeah!"  
We walked in silence until Kyoko pointed to a bend in the river. "There it is!" She said.  
"Isn't it perfect?"  
"Mmhmm..." I agreed, though I wasn't really zoned in at that moment.  
"Ah! There they are!" She waved, yelling, "Sesshomaru, Naiome, over here!" Naiome ran to us, while Sesshomaru continued to walk slowly over.  
"So are you ready?" Naiome asked excitedly, looking first at Kyoko, then at me. It was only a bath, why was she so happy? I would never fully understand women...  
Together, we walked on towards the water, the girls occupying the left, and Sesshomaru and I took the right.  
Turning to my half brother, I said, "I swear Sesshomaru, if you attack me while we're in there, I'll break down that wall and open the place up!"  
Smiling evily, Sesshomaru said, "Fear not brother, I have no such intentions."  
Why didn't I believe him...?  
Even so, while I tied a towel around my waist, I held my claws so that with any hint of assault, I could strike.  
Settling down in the water, I began to think about all that had happened in the past few days. Finally looking up at Sesshomaru, -who was sitting directly across from me- I noticed something uncharacteristic of the normally emotionless demon. He looked to be deep in thought, though even more so than myself.  
"What are you looking at little brother?" he asked, snapping out of his dreamlike state. "Don't answer that. I'm going back to the campsite."  
Getting up, Sesshomaru stuck one of his claws into the rock wall. He took hold of his clothes just in time. The wall seperating us and the girls suddenly collapsed, leaving only a few small boulders in it's place. Naiome took one look at the half-naked Sesshomaru, squealed, then ran to duck behind a rock, burying her giggling face in her hands while blushing furiously. Kyoko on the other hand, stood up, clutching the towel to her chest, walked straight over to me, beckoned for me to lean closer, grabbed hold of my ear and yelled, "WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?! YOU COULDN'T JUST LET US ENJOY OUR BATH?!" My sensitive ears couldn't take much more yelling...  
Knowing that if I didn't stop her, she would go overboard, I placed one hand on each shoulder, and gently pushed her over into the water.  
"So then enjoy it!" I laughed.  
Scowling at me, she said calmly but menacingly, "Both of you, leave now unless you would like to die."  
Sesshomaru walked over and slapped me on the back, the force of it pushing me over backwards into the water.  
"Aha! Now I see why you brought her along!"  
Looking more the part of a blithering idiot than a cold-blooded assassin, Sesshomaru padded over to where he had left the top half of his outfit, picked it up, and walked shirtless back towards the cave. Only just realizing now how awkward a situation I was in, I decided to completely ignore the two girls, and (as strange as it may sound) follow my brother.  
Catching up with him and studying his blank face carefully, I said, "It was you! You made the wall collapse!"  
Giving me an evil grin, he said unconvincingly, "Of course not!"  
"You arrogant little..." Deciding it would be best not to finish my sentence, I settled on tackling him instead. Caught off guard, Sesshomaru fell flat on his face.  
He turned to me, fangs bared and growling, and said, "I should rip you to shreds right here and now."  
Feeling a bit overconfident, I teased, "But you won't, because your little girlfriend'll leave ya!" I laughed.  
Gracefully flipping his postion to laying on his stomach to sitting, Sesshomaru said, "I would explain the circumstances of our relationship, but you couldn't possibly retain all of that information in your tiny brain."  
(WHABAYUM! XD)  
Shrugging off the insult, I grinned, "Try me."  
"I am not a fan of storytelling InuYasha. Ask Naiome sometime."  
"I would rather hear it from someone who didn't over-romanticize every detail." I retorted.  
Sighing, he said, "You know, I think this is the first -and hopefully the last- time I have ever agreed with you little brother. I will begin with when we met..."

*Naiome's Point of View*

After watching the two boys leave, Kyoko walked back over and sat down with a splash. Breathing a deep sigh of relief, she turned to me and said, "So shall we pick up where we left off?"  
Struggling to remember what it was we had been talking about, I said, "You mean how Sesshy and I met?" I giggled as I thought back to that day.

*FLASHBACK*

I walked through the dense underbrush, following my nose to find an unfamiliar smell that was burning in my nostrils. Crinkling up my nose, I thought to myself, 'It smells like wet dog... Yuck!' Staring up at the canopy of trees above me, I saw a flicker of movement. Whatever it was had been running very quickly. It almost seemed as though it was gliding. Very suddenly, a noise disturbed my train of thought. It sounded like a menacing growl. The noise came again, and only then did I realize that it was actually coming from my stomach. 'I haven't eaten in theee days... I'm starving! Hopefully this thing I'm tracking has lost enough blood to be an easy kill.'  
Walking slowly now, I came across a very fluffy looking thing. Curious, I grabbed a large handfull of the stuff, and contemplated how very soft it was. While searching for the source of the fuzz, it suddenly moved of it's own accord.  
A growling could be heard once more, but this time, it did not come from my stomach.  
"GET. OFF. ME." The now angry, fluffy said.  
Startled, I jumped off of the thing. "Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't know you were alive...!" Now noticing the smell again, I realized how stupid I was not to figure out that this was the thing I had been tracking.  
A very battered, very bloody demon emerged from within the fur. He was tall and muscular, and despite looking like he had been hacked to bits, I noted that he was extremely good looking. His silver hair cascaded down his back, and was so long that, despite the fact that he was sitting upright, it still grazed the bloodstained earth. Trying not to make it completely obvious that I was checking him out, I directed my gaze up towards his face. I supressed a gasp. His eyes were totally GORGEOUS. Like molten amber, they seemed to be staring into my soul. I felt like I could melt.  
"W-Who are you?" I asked suddenly, my lips moving without me meaning for them to.  
He raised his chin up, and said with pride, "I am Lord Sesshomaru, son of the great dog demon."  
My heart just about leaped out of my body. He was perfect, and he was a prince to boot! "D-Do you... um... Do you need any help? I mean, would you like me to bandage you up?" I hid my face in my hands, sure that I was blushing.  
He laughed coldly. "I do not accept charity from half-demons. Make that anyone. I simply need rest, and I will heal in a short amount of time." He attempted to move his arm to push himself up and off the ground, but failed miserably. He instead, turned his head the other way and pretended not to see me.  
I tried not to giggle. "Are you absolutely positive about that? I won't tell anyone you know..."  
"No. I will not accept anything from anyone. I take what I want and kill whoever I want. That includes you, so you had better let me be woman."  
Deciding that he wouldn't hurt me, I scooted over to my pack and removed some bandages and mortar and pestle. Standing up, I said, "I'm going to find some herbs to use. I will be coming back, so don't even think about leaving!" Turning on my heels, I could've sworn he thanked me quietly. Being half fox demon did have advantages.  
A while later, I returned to the spot where Sesshomaru lay. He was actually still lying there, though looked irritated enough.  
His eyes; which had been closed, snapped open, and he sat up. I winced at the sight of him. His white kimono was now completely soaked with blood. I kneeled in front of him. Holding out my hand, I said, "Give me your shirt, I'll wash it for you."  
The way he looked at me made me feel like he was looking at some kind of insane monster or something.  
"What? Do you want to be covered in your own blood? If I don't get it off now then it'll stain."  
Appearing to give in, he peeled off his shirt and threw it unceremoniously into my face. Rolling my eyes, I took it to the nearest river, and began to scrub it on a rock. The material was almost completely resistant to the blood, and it washed off quite easily. After working on it for another twenty minutes, I told myself that it was good enough, and sped back towards the smell of Sesshomaru's blood.  
When I reached the small area once again, Sesshomaru was toying with a small animal. It squeaked and trembled while he pulled at its tiny ears and poked its stomach, along with various other torturous actions.  
"Hey." I said.  
Throwing the poor thing into the bushes to the right of him, he said, "Did you get the stains out?"  
I let out a small laugh. "Yeah, here." I said, tossing it over to him.  
With a look of something equivalent to disgust, he held it up and said, "Well I won't be wearing it until it's dry."  
No complaints there.  
Moving over towards the dog demon, I grabbed the mortar and pestle and began crushing various herbs to use as a salve.  
Sesshomaru's nose twitched as he sniffed the concoction. After sneezing twice, he said, "Smells like Jaken's feet..."  
I snickered, "Well you'd better get used to it, because this is going to be smeared all over you."  
Sesshomaru grabbed my hand and pried the pestle out of my hand. Holding it up and looking at it skeptically. Before I could stop him, he wiped half of it on my face. In complete shock, I looked down at the small bowl which still held a small amount of the substance. "You know, now I'm going to go and find more herbs to make another batch." I said knowingly, staring him right in those gorgeous tawny eyes.  
"No you don't. My wounds are healing, so I only need half the amount to coat them." He replied, his tone clearly attempting to convey how obvious it should have been.  
Grabbing the pestle back, I said, "Fine. But you can't complain while I'm applying it."  
Sesshomaru glared at me, his gaze so cold, I thought I might be an ice cube by the time he looked away.  
"I would never complain anyways." He said harshly.  
Taking a glob of the mixture, I slapped it on his back. Hard. Sesshomaru grabbed me by the wrist, his wounds forgotten, and pushed me to the ground.  
"Try that again and I'll kill you, woman."  
Standing up and facing him once more, I yelled, "WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?! DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH ME! YOU OWE ME ONE MISTER, BECAUSE IF I HADN'T TAKEN CARE OF YOU, YOU'D STILL BE A SMELLY, BLOODSTAINED JERK!"  
He smirked, and looked me in the eyes. "I owe you? What would you like in return then, my 'princess'?"  
A spark ran through my body. Well, it felt more like I had been struck by lightning actually. His... Princess? What was he saying?  
Suddenly, an idea popped into my head, standing out from the others. Pondering the terms that I had come up with.  
"Alright," I said, returning his smirk. "I know what I want. You will be my bodyguard, and my traveling companion. I will let you heal before starting though...!" I winked at him. "Now let me put some bandages on you!"  
Getting to work with the long process of dressing each gash, I tried to contain myself. It was getting increasingly difficult to ignore his muscular self. Concentrating only on my own hands, I managed to get through the ordeal without squealing.  
"Okay! There you go, now hurry up and get better already! If there's no one to protect me, I might just have to go and find some mighty warriors to do it instead. And we both know what would happen to us if I brought them here." Grinning at him, I got up and began to walk out of the small clearing.  
"You're leaving again? Where are you going?" asked Sesshomaru.  
Was he worried? "Well the only reason that I came here was because I smelled blood, and figured that there was an injured animal nearby. I'm hungry!"  
Sesshomaru's expression suggested disgust. "You came here to EAT ME? If I had known that, I'd have killed you before you even knew what had hit you!"  
I giggled. "Yeah, yeah, go on. It's all about your big tough guy reputation, I know!"  
Sesshomaru growled and clutched the hilt of one sword. Swiftly drawing the weapon, it was pointed at me in seconds. He fit the tip right under my chin, pressing it into my neck. It was a gentle touch, but was precise enough to slit my throat if need be.  
"I never jest about such things as death." He kept his cold eyes locked with mine while he sheathed it once again.  
I backed away, then ran from him, not out of fear, but because of how damn hot he was when he got angry! Not that he wasn't always insanely attractive...  
I used my faithful nose to track down a large patch of berries. I grabbed handful after handful, stuffing half in my bag, and the other half directly into my mouth. I gathered enough so that Sesshomaru could have some too it he wasn't stubborn enough to take them.

*Sesshomaru's Point of View*

I couldn't understand why the girl was helping me. She could have killed me while I was weak, but she instead was healing my wounds. Half demons were strange indeed. I waited patiently, wondering if she would return, hoping that she would. Why did I feel protective for this woman? We had only met today, and yet I felt compelled to keep her alive. What was this strange feeling that bubbled over my unemotional self? I wondered if this was the thing that humans (Before I killed them of course) sometimes spoke of? Love? Was that what I was feeling? I pushed the train of thought to the back of my mind once she returned, though I still felt the strange feeling. Why couldn't it just go away?  
"I brought you some too." She said happily.  
Trying my best to remove all emotion from my voice, I replied, "I do not eat human food."  
"Well you'd better get used to it dog boy, because you need to eat to recover faster! I don't want my bodyguard all weak and useless!"  
I glared at her. "I will never be useless. I will never be weak. I can never be overpowered by anyone. You need not worry about my recovery speed, I am almost able to move as I usually do."  
I tackled her, pinning her arms to the ground. Moving close, I whispered in her ear, "I am your bodyguard, you are not mine." She shivered. I got up again, smirking. I had not lost my charm.  
The girl slowly rose from her position on the ground. She was obviously in shock.  
"What is your name?" I asked innocently.  
"N-Naiome..." She said shakily.  
"Hah. A fitting name for one so delicate and small." Clamping my mouth shut, I hoped she had not read into that little comment too much.  
I walked to her, studying her expression. "What's your problem? Am I too attractive for you?"  
"N-No! I mean, It's not that, I just..." She blushed.  
"Go on." I said, giving her a lopsided grin.  
"Nevermind..." Naiome mumbled into her hair, which was a pleasing rusty colour.  
"Whatever." I said, leaning back against the tree again.  
"You could have at least put your shirt on before tackling me like that..."  
"Oh? That bothered you? Well I like toying with my victims, so that means that I got the desired effect. I must remember that."

*Naiome's Point of View*

I sat by our small campfire attempting to stay warm. For the first time in a long while, I had a chance to think about life in general. Was Sesshomaru really just messing with me? When he tackled me... It was in his eyes- desire I mean. Though he seemed emotionless on the outside, he couldn't be completely blank inside, right? Could Sesshomaru love? I shivered, and sank farther into my nest of leaves, seeking warmth.  
I looked over at Sesshomaru. He stared intently into the flames, contemplating who knows what.  
"Something wrong Naiome?"  
Busted. "No..."  
He smiled at me. Not a cold merciless, bloodthirsty smirk, but a genuinely warm smile. Who knew he could create such a nice expression?  
"You look cold, come over here." he said, pointing one clawed at the ground beside him.  
I began to protest, but only halfheartedly, for I really did want to go sit with him. So I scooted closer to the handsome dog demon. Because I had once again been exposed to the cool night air, and left my bed of foliage behind, I shivered violently, my whole body shaking.  
Sesshomaru impatiently tapped the ground again, looking me in the eyes. His features were illuminated by the warm glow of the fire, making his normally hard, stoic features gentle and soft looking.  
"If I am your knight, I can't have my princess freeze to death. Take this, it will keep you warm."  
He held out the soft fluffy thing that he wore around his shoulder. (Yes Ocean, it certainly is his fluffy.) I took hold of it and with a shocked word of thanks, I wrapped myself in it. A warmth imstantly spread throughout my body. If only I had met Sesshomaru earlier...  
Snuggling into it, I thought about his reasoning behind him giving me the fur. Had Sesshomaru related me to a princess? Smiling into the white fuzz, I remembered how he had introduced himself. He was a prince. I know that it may sound cliché, but just like in the stories, for me it had been love at first sight. Though the encounter hadn't started out like a fairy tale, I had a funny feeling that this would end like one. And sitting here, snuggled up to my prince, this half demon felt just as lucky as a real princess. (WOOT WOOT! :D)

I woke up to someone playing with my hair. Opening one eye very slightly, I noticed that someone was very close to me, leaning over and reaching for my long red hair. Who was it? Not wanting to alarm (or embarass) the individual, I closed my eyes once again and let them ontinue to play with the locks. From what I could tell, the being was braiding the strands of hair. Trying not to be too obvious with my sniffing, I gathered that this was a demon. A dog demon. My eyes snapped open, realizing who it was. Sesshomaru jumped back, looking a bit surprised.  
"Wh- What are you doing?!" I asked incredulously.  
Cautiously, I moved my hand up to the piece of hair he had braided and took hold of it. Sure it wasn't perfect, but it was obvious enough that he had actually made an effort.  
He walked a little ways towards me. "I only... wished for you to awaken."  
"Sure... Where did you learn to braid? It's not too bad you know, considering the fact that you probably haven't had much practice." I laughed.  
Giving up, Sesshomaru said, "In the village where I left my travelling companions, (A.N. Yes this is pre final act...) many of the women wore their hair like that. One of my comrades was particularily interested in how to braid, and since my hair is long enough, she enjoyed practicing on me. I did not mind too much, as it kept her busy and out of my other comrade's face." Talking more to himself than me, he added, "Jaken was irritable indeed..." Now appearing to remember something important, he said, "Ah yes, I've packed up all of your things into your bag. We should get going now."  
Nodding, I shouldered my pack and stood up.  
"One more thing Sesshomaru."  
"Go on." He said impatiently, already beginning to walk away.  
"Can I call you 'Sesshy'?"  
Sesshomaru glanced back at me. "Call me whatever you like."  
Smiling, I ran to catch up with the newly nicknamed 'Sesshy'.

*END FLASHBACK*

"...And from then on, we traveled together." I finished triumphantly.  
Kyoko looked amused. "That's not at all how I pictured Sesshomaru...! I'm almost completely sure that he's changed for you Naiome."  
Looking into the depths of the pool, I asked, "Yes, but for better, or for worse?"  
"You need to ask?" She said, giving me a knowing smile.  
I looked up at her once again, "Thanks Kyoko. You're a good kid."

*InuYasha's Point of View*

"...And she has followed me since that day." My brother finished.  
"You know Sesshomaru, despite your modesty in saying that you suck at storytelling, that wasn't too bad. I mean, at least at the parts that I stayed awake for." I smirked, hoping to get a snarl or a dirty look, or a few harsh words for that comment. Instead, he looked more smug than ever.  
"You know, the longer you and I fight, the longer Naiome and I stay here. If I were you, I would just grin and bare it so that I can leave you, and this place behind me."  
"Or maybe I'll make you suffer."  
"It is your choice little brother."  
"Well then I choose to make your life a living hell."  
"Suit yourself."  
I stood up, and, attempting to appear intimidating, looked down on my sibling. "You can leave whenever you like. If you can't kill Naiome, then I will."  
Something in Sesshomaru snapped at that moment. He jumped up, grasped my neck and began to strangle me.  
"Touch Naiome and YOU will be the one dead, InuYasha."  
He removed his hands and walked towards the cave once again. Before he even went an arrow shot away though, Sesshomaru turned back and said, "Heed my warning, InuYasha. Unless you want to see everyone you love dead, you will take the girl home. Your imbalance with the demon and human blood in you is growing stronger. The seal is breaking, and that girl is opening a well of demonic aura in herself. She is my daughter, as I am sure you have deduced. My blood is not much stronger than Naiome's, so the void of human blood in Kyoko is weak. You must take her back to her home time. Your demonic powers are being transferred to Kyoko, you becoming human, the girl becoming a full demon. She will be even more dangerous than Naraku, or even myself if she ever gets to that point. Only you can prevent this InuYasha. "  
I stood in shock at what he had just dumped on me. Kyoko was more dangerous than Naraku? If Sesshomaru was worried, then I REALLY had a problem on my hands.  
"What will you do Sesshomaru?"  
"I will accompany you. I am responsible for creating her, and I will not let Kyoko destroy herself. It pained me to leave her. When I gave Kyoko to her foster parents, she didn't even know what her real parents looked like. Naiome and I have been hiding our relationship from the world for nigh on a hundred years. You are unaware that I can travel through the bone eaters well, correct?"  
"Uh, yes?"  
"I traveled to the well as soon as I heard rumours about a strange girl from the future going back and forth through it. I was able to go through and find an adoptive family. Kyoko is not aware of this."  
"Aren't you going to tell her?"  
"Not yet."  
"If you don't, I will."  
"Do not test my patience, InuYasha."  
"Whatever. I'm going back to the camp."  
I bounded to the base of the mountain, my brain full to capacity. Kyoko had to find out soon enough.  
(SH*T JUST GOT REAL! :D)


	2. Chapter 2

Kyoko sat by the small fire in the cave brushing her hair. "Where were you?!" She said, a worried look plain on her face.  
"Sesshomaru was bein' a blabbermouth. Couldn't get him to keep his damn mouth shut." I said dismissively. Hopefully she wouldn't pry any more.  
"About what?" Naiome asked as she walked over.  
Damn it.  
"Not much. Just a couple'a boring things he wanted to talk about."  
"Like...?" Naiome pressed.  
I shot her a warning look. "Nothing!"  
"Fine, fine, I get it, it's private stuff between you and Sesshy..."  
Naiome walked away again, but Kyoko's thirst for answers was not quenched.  
She came closer to me, grabbing my arm.  
"InuYasha... I could use the beads again if I need too you know... SO TELL ME WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED!" Gripping the cuts of my sleeves, she began to rip it down, almost tearing my sleeves in half. "TELL ME WHAT HAPPENED OR THE FIRE RAT GETS IT!" Naiome was standing in the corner laughing her head off. I wondered if they had planned this from the start.  
"Kyoko," I said, keeping my voice calm and stable, "If you want to know, I suggest you ask Sesshomaru... Or Naiome." Throwing Naiome a smug look, I pried Kyoko off of my robes, only to have her push me down. She ran out of the cave, with a frantic Naiome following close at her heels. Had Kyoko figured it out?

• • •

*Kyoko's Point of View*

I knew what Naiome and Sesshomaru were hiding. I knew what Sesshomaru had told InuYasha. It bothered me. I ran because I knew Naiome would follow, Sesshomaru coming after. I didn't want to know, but at the same time, I had too many questions that needed answers to ignore the matter.  
I stopped, and sat on a large rock, waiting for the couple. In a matter of minutes, Sesshomaru and Naiome had appeared at the bottom of the boulder.  
"Kyoko... Will you tell us what your suspicions are?" Sesshomaru said gently.  
"You two are my real parents. You abandoned me. I lived in the future. Somehow I came to the current era, met InuYasha,-who would be my uncle- and his friends, and then split the group up. InuYasha and I decided to travel together because of his desire to find a cure for the full demon transformations, and I to find a way back home. Now tell me something that has been bothering me; Why did you come here in the first place? Why come back, after abandoning me in the future?"  
Naiome spoke this time, "Because we didn't want to leave you. It hurt to give you to those humans. It was for your own protection Kyoko. If you had stayed here in the Feudal Era, your demon nature would have come through sooner."  
"Yes, the mixture of Naiome's and my blood is dangerous. Despite the fact that you are 3/4 demon, your human blood will try and take over, driving you insane. You would be the most powerful being in the entire world. You would kill mercilessly and ruthlessly, sparing no one. This is why we sent you to the future. If you are among humans, and have no contact with demons, then you will be spared this fate." He sat down beside me on the rock. "Do not think that we abandoned you Kyoko."  
Naiome spoke again, "If you want to hate us, go ahead, but your father and I did what we had to." She too climbed up the rock and sat down beside me, Sesshomaru and herself squishing me between them. We sat in silence for quite a long time, until I broke the silence. "Why is it that the mixture of your blood is dangerous?"  
"Because Naiome is half demon, and I am full demon. 3/4 demons are very rare because they are normally killed at birth. They take on traits from both parents, like any normal being, but the abilities are multiplied tenfold, making the individual many times stronger than either parent. With both of us being exceptionally strong, you would surpass even my father; Your grandfather. Obviously this would never be acceptable. It's amazing that you have lived this long, as normally you would be killed within a year or two of your birth. You, Kyoko, will have no problem should you choose to have children. If you mate with a full demon, your child will be a full demon. If you mate with a human, your child will be a half demon. Only if you mate with a half, or 3/4 demon will your child be a 3/4 demon. Taking into consideration that you would most likely never find another 3/4 demon as old as you are now, unless you have a half demon mate, your future will be safe. No one can tell that you are 3/4 demon, so both humans and demons will accept you, depending on which form you take at that time."  
Naiome ran her fingers through my hair and looked into my eyes. "I know that you will find your one true love soon Kyoko. I wish you good luck." She jumped down off of the boulder, then turned back and waved to us. "I'll meet you back at the cave!"  
I turned to Sesshomaru, studying him. His expression for once, showed emotion. He looked anxious, worried, sad, and relieved all at once. His features did not reveal how old he really was. The kimono he wore was old and bloodstained, though no rips or tears were visible. I wanted to know what had happened to him in the 14 years since he had brought me to the future.  
"Kishi..." He whispered.  
A little confused, I asked, "Who's Kishi?"  
"You are Kishi... That is what we named you."  
My emotions a jumbled mess, I embraced him, feeling Sesshomaru become tense. It was a little awkward at first, but soon he relaxed and returned the gesture. It felt nice to hug my real father. Somehow I had known all along that my future parents weren't related by blood. Tears silently streamed down my face. When I looked up at Sesshomaru, his expression has changed. No longer was he a cold-blooded, ruthless, and heartless killer; he was a father. And a proud one at that.  
"It must be hard for you Kishi... Learning all of this now."  
Giving him a watery smile, I said, "No, not really. It's for the better."  
Giving me a (strained) smile, Sesshomaru said, "I'm glad to hear it. Does this also mean you no longer wish to go home?"  
I nodded. "Yes. I'll stay here and live in the time period I was meant to be in."  
Sesshomaru said nothing, he only hugged me tighter. Too tightly.  
"Dad. I. Can't. Breathe!" I sputtered, trying to free myself.  
He let go instantly, and patted me on the back. I guess this was the closest I was going to get to an apology.  
Looking a bit flustered, Sesshomaru said, "I really don't know my own strength."  
"Yeah, well that's okay, we can work on that!" I laughed.  
Brushing off his kimono, and attempting to regain his composure, Sesshomaru said, "Right. Well the main thing we need to do right now is go and find the humans. I believe that InuYasha's mate can help you."  
"Kagome?" I asked.  
"Yes... That's her name. She has immense spiritual powers. If anyone can find a way to prevent your demon blood from driving you insane, it's her."  
"Okay. But at least let me talk to InuYasha first."  
Feeling faint all of a sudden, I gripped the stone underneath me. Sesshomaru caught me before I fell, but that is all I know, for everything faded to black seconds after.

• • •

Someone was carrying me. I rode on their back, hanging limply off of them while the person supported my body. I opened my eyes, and saw that the person was not Sesshomaru. I did not recognize this scent. Pushing myself off of the being's back, I fell back on my butt, and, looking up, saw a kindly face.  
"You're awake!" He exclaimed happily. "I was worried you'd hit your head or something."  
I looked at him, cocking my head to the side, questioning him silently.  
Laughing, he explained, "I am Mamoru. I found you unconscious by the waterfall a ways back. Do you remember what happened?"  
"No..."  
"What matter of demon are you?" He asked, gesturing to the top of my head.  
"Huh? Oh... It must be because I was around Naiome, Sesshomaru and InuYasha for so long."  
"You know Sesshomaru and InuYasha?!" he asked incredulously.  
"Well... Yeah... I'm related to them."  
He backed up, slowly retreating.  
"W-Wait! Where are you going?!"  
"I-I... Can't believe you're..."  
"What's wrong? Did they do something to hurt you?"  
"No..."  
"Then what's your problem?"  
"Nothing..."  
We stood in silence, both staring at the ground. Unsure what to do, I waited for him to move. When he didn't even look at me, I said, "I think I'll go home now... Thank you and goodbye."  
He made no move to stop me. Walking back towards the cave again, I wondered what had happened to Sesshomaru. Where had he gone after I became unconscious?

• • •

*Sesshomaru's Point of View*

I caught Kishi just in time. Holding her bridal style, I took in the soft brown hair and ears. The transformations were taking a toll on her. If she had fainted from the transformation, then Kishi was already beginning to grow weak. Weakness turned indescribable power.  
It was me. I had caused the transformation.  
'I have to get away from her.' I thought, laying her down beside a waterfall. If any demons tried to take her, they'd be drenched in her strong demonic aura, and would most likely flee. I sat down with her, and brushed a stray piece of hair out of her eyes. She looked so much like Naiome.  
Even though I didn't want to leave Kishi alone, I knew I had to for her sake. So I set off towards the stench of my half brother.

• • •

"Kishi? Who the hell is Kishi?"  
"I've told you already, Kishi is Kyoko's real name."  
"WHAT?" InuYasha screamed in rage, "YOU LEFT KYOKO ALL ALONE?!"  
"She needs to be away from demons right now."  
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU THINKING?! WHY DIDN'T YOU BRING HER BACK TO THE CAVE?! WE COULD'VE LEFT AFTER YOU IDIOT!"  
"Be silent InuYasha. I know more about Kishi than you do."  
"And how do you figure that makes any difference?! Kyoko could be dead by now!"  
"Her name is Kishi, not Kyoko."  
"I DON'T CARE WHAT HER STUPID NAME IS! I'M JUST TRYING TO POINT OUT HOW MUCH OF AN IDIOT YOU ARE!"  
"Maybe you rubbed off on me little brother."  
InuYasha growled menacingly.  
My nose picked up a familiar scent. Mamoru? No, it couldn't be. He was forbidden to come anywhere near my family and I. If it was indeed Mamoru, and he was with Kishi, I would have to kill him.  
"Hurry up." I said, and sped off in the direction of the two scents.  
Reaching the source, I stopped and listened. I heard nothing. Had the person carrying her somehow managed to kill her without drawing blood? I followed the scent of my daughter, winding through the tree branches, jumping from limb to limb. Finally emerging into a brightly lit opening, I found Kishi, and with her, the most horrible thing I could have ever come across. Mamoru was standing there with her.  
I watched them closely, wondering if 'It' would make a move on her. Surprisingly, they said nothing, only stared at the ground. When Kishi finally said, "I think I'll go home now... Thank you and goodbye."  
'Hah!' I thought. 'That was great! I got to see my own daughter leave him standing there like an idiot!'  
Following Kishi, I glided silently behind her, waiting for her to slow her pace.  
"Kishi, do you know who that man is?"  
She jumped, screamed, and fell over.  
"D-Don't scare me like that!"  
I chuckled. "Well? Did he say who he was?"  
"No...?"  
"Good."

• • •

*InuYasha's Point of View*

"Sesshomaru! Wait!" I yelled, attempting to catch up to my brother, who was now traveling at the speed of light.  
"Take Naiome and wait for me back at camp! Pack everything up!"  
"Keh, always leaving me with all the work..."  
When I arrived at the cave, Naiome was sitting by a blazing fire.  
"Sesshomaru told me to come back here and pack up." I said.  
"Well it sounds like he's over reacting."  
"Yup. Move over, it's damn cold out there."  
And so we waited for father and daughter to return, hoping that they hadn't frozen to death outside.  
"Yo, InuYasha!" a familiar voice called up.  
Looking down into the darkness, I saw two dog demons.  
"What took you so long?!" I yelled back.  
Sesshomaru bounded up the face of the cliff.  
"We had something to discuss."  
Kishi ground her heel into the rock. "We met someone that Sesshomaru doesn't exactly 'like'..."  
"That's no reason to be this late!"  
Kishi walked up to me and looked straight into my eyes. "InuYasha, let's go back to the others. Kagome in particular.  
I sighed, relieved that the suggestion had been made. Secretly I had been hoping that someone would want or need to go back to the others... But no one knew that I had been sneaking out every night, close enough to catch Kagome's sweet scent. I couldn't sleep without it.  
"Fine by me." I said, plopping down by the fire once again. Kishi sat down beside me, whispering in my ear, "Are you ready to tell me what happened with you and Kagome?"  
I shook my head.  
"Whenever you're ready, you can tell me."  
Smiling and ruffling her hair, I said, "You're a good kid Kishi."  
She pulled away from my hand, furiously attempting to 'fix' her hair.  
"Don't touch the hair!" She exclaimed.  
When she had finally finished finger brushing her tangly mess of soft, brown hair, Kishi lay her head on my shoulder. This pose had become a nightly occurrence. It was an unspoken comfort to both of us, no words needed to convey our feelings. It was more of a brother-sister relationship than an uncle-niece one, but was, nonetheless, a strong one. Kishi and I would look out for each other for as long as we lived. I don't think even Sesshomaru could rival my bond with her.  
"Hey InuYasha?" Kishi said quietly, staring up at me.  
"Yeah? What is it?"  
She looked down at her hands, which were balled into fists.  
"D'you think I could live here? Instead of going back to my own time I mean. Would I fit in alright?"  
I thought about it for a minute, the replied, "I think you would fit in just fine Ky-Kishi."  
She remained silent.  
"Kishi?" I said quietly.  
She looked up at me, tears in her eyes, and when she spoke, I nearly cried myself. "InuYasha," She sobbed, keeping her voice as low as she could, "Thank you for everything... I don't know how I could have gotten through the past few weeks without you. I'm glad I met you."  
I hugged her tightly, letting her snuggle into my chest. I tried my best to comfort her while she cried quietly into my shirt. Across the cave, Sesshomaru stared us down. I could swear I heard him mutter "Will you let me kill him now?" to Naiome, but it as it was very quiet, I wasn't entirely sure.  
When Kishi had finally become silent, I carefully extracted myself from her grip, making sure not to jolt her awake. Moving silently to the edge of the cliff, I jumped to the ground. I had to keep myself from crying out, though that was becoming increasingly difficult, because the pain in my ankle was growing. Biting down on my tongue, I examined my ankle. It felt swollen, and I was sure that I had broken it. I limped over to the nearest tree, and snapped off two medium sized branches. I got to work, quickly wrapping a strip of my undershirt around my ankle. I then tore another strip off and proceeded to tie the two branches together to form a makeshift crutch.  
"Man, what a pain. I could have ran all the way there by now..." I muttered. Instead, I ran as fast as I could possibly go handicapped like this (which wasn't very fast) towards the area. Why I was drawn to this spot, I'll never understand. Laying under a tree in the middle of the clearing, illuminated purely by the silvery glow of the waxing moon, was Kagome. She opened her eyes and stared groggily at me.  
"G-Get away!" She yelled.  
"Wha-?" I couldn't process it. Kagome? Telling me to leave? No, I would not leave her here alone, even if I had to force her to accept my protection.  
"L-Leave me be! I didn't do anything wrong!"  
I limped slowly over to the girl, making sure not to get too close. When she did nothing to stop me, I sat down beside her, my leg stretched out awkwardly. She rubbed her eyes sleepily, sighed, then placed her head in her hands, and said quietly, "Why can't I have a dreamless sleep for once?"  
I looked at her quizzically. "What do you mean Kagome?"  
"These dreams have been haunting me ever since that jerk left. My imagination just seems to like torturing me."  
"I still don't get it."  
She looked at me, then poked my arm.  
"Oi, what's that for?!" I said angrily.  
Her eyes grew wide. She looked up at the moon. "I-InuYasha?!"  
"Yeah?"  
Kagome grabbed by hair, pulling it in all different directions. "B-But you...!"  
"Hey, that hurts! Let go!"  
She ignored me, grabbing my hand. Her own hand was unusually cold. She studied my fingers. "No claws...! You...!"  
"What's your problem?" I asked, annoyed.  
"InuYasha!" Suddenly I was smushed into the tree as Kagome hugged me tightly.  
Shocked, I only sat there, trying to process what had just happened.  
"It's really you! I'm not dreaming!" She said happily.  
Obviously she had caught the confused look on my face, because she said, "I don't have to explain it, do I...?" She sighed.  
"Did you really dream about me every night?"  
A hint of cherry red spread across her cheeks.  
"Um... Well, I always dream about you when I spend a night away from you... But these dreams were really strange. Sometimes even scary. A lot of the dreams had you as you appear on the night of the full moon. The really strange thing was that even though your hair was black, and your fangs were gone, you still had claws and ears. And the strangest thing was that you acted like you were mute. So that's kind of why I acted that way..." She looked down at the ground, then added, "Sorry about that."  
Giving her what I hoped to be a reassuring smile, I said, "Well I'm real, and I'll prove it. Ask me a question!"  
After thinking about it for a minute, Kagome asked, "What is eight divided by two?"  
I blanched. How was I suposed to answer that? Deciding to try anyways, I said, "Two?"  
She laughed, "Nope! But now I know I'm not dreaming!"  
'I will never understand half of the things that come out of her mouth...' I thought.  
Suddenly, I felt Kagome lean on my shoulder. The contact felt significantly different than Kishi, and I wasn't sure how to react. I decided to put my arm around her, pulling her closer.  
"InuYasha... I'm glad you're back. I was really worried when you ran off like that."  
I tried to sit cross-legged, but found that it hurt too much.  
"You would have been more worried if I had've stayed." I growled.  
Kagome pulled away, and looked up at me, a hurt expression marring her normally soft features. "You don't trust me, do you?"  
It was true. I didn't trust Kagome the way I should. How could I trust her, after what all the humans did to me? She could turn out to be just like one of them. After what happened with Kikyo, I don't think I could ever trust anyone ever again.  
Her gaze never strayed from me. She sat, patiently waiting for an answer.  
I sighed. "Of course I trust you Kagome."  
"Then tell me what's happening to you. You told me that your demon blood is taking over, so why then are you human tonight, when it isn't a full moon?"  
I ripped some grass out of the ground beside me. "You'd better ask Sesshomaru."  
"Where is he? And how does he know ab-" I cut her off mid sentence. "I'm not going to answer that."  
"InuYasha!" Kagome huffed. "Come on! I have to know about this kind of stuff! And why are you so grumpy? Where's Kyoko? Don't tell me you left her alone somewhere! Or maybe you already found a way to get her back to-" I cut her off once again, though this time, I silenced her by scooting closer and peering into her eyes. "What's up with you? You're really talkative."  
Kagome just sat there, returning my gaze, albeit with a more intense one.  
"I-Inu... Yasha?" Kagome stuttered.  
"Yeah?" I asked, keeping my eyes locked with hers.  
"Could you... Please stay with me? I-I don't want you to leave me alone again..."  
"Sure." I agreed.

• • •

*Kagome's Point of View*

I only had a moment before I realized what was about to happen. I saw InuYasha's eyes glint with exitement, giving me a rebellious grin. I was suddenly scooped up, and felt myself flying upwards. I let out a terrified squeak as InuYasha bounded up to the nearest tree branch. I jumped out of his grip, nearly sending him off his perch.  
"You idiot!" He exclaimed, "Why'd you do that?!"  
"You surprised me! How would you react if I had a broken ankle, and decided to jump up a tree anyways?"  
He cocked his head to one side, exactly like what a dog would do, and answered, "I guess I'd be grateful that you had kept me safe. I definately wouldn't yell at you and nearly knock you off the tree."  
I hate it when InuYasha's rational... "Eh, well you do have a valid point there."  
"I was only trying to keep us safe from ground-bound enemies. They couldn't possibly reach us all the way up here! Well, unless they had wings or something..."  
I rolled my eyes at him. "You could've at least told me what you were doing first..."  
"Whatever. We're safe now, so quit complaining."  
I walked slowly, and carefully across the branch back over to InuYasha. I took hold of his hand, leading him over to the crook of the tree.  
"Just sit down and be quiet...!" I said, a little annoyed.  
Quite suddenly, I felt something snap, and the next moment I found myself on the ground once again. Sitting up, I found myself in very close proximity with InuYasha. Jumping back, I realized he was unconscious.  
'Oops, I guess I fell on him...' I thought. 'Well there isn't much I can do for him now anyways. I guess I'd better sleep myself.'  
As soon as I had reached for my backpack though, I heard InuYasha getting up.  
'So much for that idea...'  
"Uhh... First my ankle, now my head... Man, I hate being mortal..." InuYasha complained groggily.  
As I laughed, I thought, 'Well, I think you're pretty cute as a human...'  
"You do?"  
Oh man, don't tell me I said that out loud...  
"Um... What did I say?" I asked, knowing exactly what his answer would be.  
"Well... You said I looked cute as a human..."  
Damn it.  
"I-I said that?" Laughing nervously, I added, "Well, I like your cute dog ears when you're a half demon... Maybe you just heard me wrong...!"  
"You still called me cute." He said, smiling triumphantly.  
"I-I called your dog ears cute!" I protested.  
"I don't see a difference."  
"..." Oh no... Now I was really in a jam...  
"Whatever, I don't really care."  
'Okay, how long can I hold in my feelings...? I mean, him sitting there pouting like a little kid...?' I suppressed a smile.  
"Well? Are you gonna sleep on the ground, down where every living thing can see you, or are you gonna let me take you up to sleep in a tree, where you'll be safe?" He asked impatiently.  
Sighing, I said "Lead the way doggie..."  
Though he seemed to be a little ticked off at my comment, he nonetheless picked me up and launched off his one unbroken foot, up to one of the largest trees.  
"Now don't break the branch again...!" He said, annoyed.  
"Well if you don't want me to break the branch again, why don't you carry me over there?" I said, pointing to what looked like a good spot.  
I was surprised that he began to walk carefully over. Soon, I found myself being plopped down in the little nook. InuYasha limped a little ways away, closer to the end of the large branch.  
"InuYasha?" I whispered, not sure if I wanted him to hear me.  
"What is it?" He growled.  
"Did you... Mean what you said?"  
"Back in that clearing?"  
"Yeah..."  
"I would never lie to you Kagome."  
I could've sworn he blushed.  
"Oh..."  
"So I tell you how I feel, and all you have to say is 'Oh'? I thought... I thought you..." Our gazes locked for a moment before he looked down. "Just forget I ever said anything."  
He really did mean it? "InuYasha... Think of it this way; Would I have stayed up all night, every night, worrying about you if I hated you? Would I have come sneaking off to find you? Did you think it was just a fluke that we met here tonight? I love you too InuYasha... Always have, and always will."  
He stared at me, speechless. I was a bit shocked myself that that had just come out of my mouth. Did I really love him that much?  
There wasn't any more time to think. Soon I had a scarily-happy half demon in my face. His tawny eyes only about a couple of centimetres away from my own.  
"Really?"  
"Could you... Possibly back up a little?" I squeaked.  
"Answer me Kagome."  
"Uh, yes... Really..."  
He walked slowly backwards on all fours, keeping his eyes locked with my own. I suppressed a laugh. He almost looked like a cat that was getting ready to pounce...  
Realizing that our conversation had quite obviously ended, I attempted to get some sleep. I closed my eyes, but still felt relatively self-concious. Why did InuYasha have to stare at me like that? It was a little bit creepy. Peeking through my eyelashes at him, I could see that he was still on all fours, and still staring at me. Oh well, how long could he possibly stare at me for anyways? Unfortunately for me, he could do it for a really, really long time.  
"Why don't you sleep...?" I mumbled.  
"You need your sleep more than I do. Besides, I never sleep when I'm mortal."  
I sighed and carefully rolled onto my side, taking care not to fall off the branch.  
'Easy for him to say...' I thought grumpily.  
After an hour of unsuccessfully attempting to get some sleep, I decided to take a look at InuYasha again.  
He was still there. Staring at me. In the exact same position as before.  
Sitting up suddenly, I yelled, "WILL YOU STOP STARING AT ME?!"  
"I always watch you when you're sleeping."  
I made a face at him. Obviously InuYasha didn't appreciate this, as he growled and displayed a very rude gesture in return.  
Oh, did I wish I had a camera...  
He hopped down off the branch, and from the cry that came from below, I figured he hadn't had a soft landing.  
"InuYasha!" I yelled.  
A strained growl came from below. "I forgot... My ankle..."  
"Hold on! I'm coming!"  
Good thing I like to climb trees. I slowly put my foot down to the next branch, and continued down the tree in this manner until finally reaching the ground. (Don't judge my description, I've only climbed like, four trees my entire life...)  
As soon as I was firmly on the ground, I ran to InuYasha, who was sitting with one leg bent in a very awkward manner.  
"Damn it! I left my bag up in the tree!"  
InuYasha spoke, and I could tell by his voice alone that he was hurt pretty bad. "It doesn't matter... Just forget about it..."  
I plopped down beside him. "I won't forget about it! Now let me see!"  
Muttering something unintelligible under his breath, he flipped over so that he was sitting on his butt.  
While I examined his ankle, he squirmed and cursed at me. Paying no attention to him, I continued poking and prodding various places to see exactly what was wrong.  
"I think you fractured it. It isn't too bad though, just be more careful from now on okay?"  
"Keh. It'll heal as soon as I become a demon again. I don't need to be careful." InuYasha muttered.  
I rolled my eyes, "But you're human now InuYasha."


End file.
